1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to remote tracking systems, and more particularly, to a system for retrieving a hunting arrow or a hunting arrow and game animal shot in the sport of archery hunting.
2. Description of The Prior Art
In the sport of archery hunting, a game animal may travel long distances after having been shot with an arrow. In many cases, when the animal travels a long distance, the blood trail left by the animal is difficult to follow. The terrain may be too rugged to permit adequate tracking, the animal may travel through water, the wound may clot, the blood may be washed away by rain or the animal may only bleed internally and leave no blood trail. In these situations, the wounded animal is often lost, and never recovered. Such a situation generates a bad image for archery hunters, as well as needlessly wasting a natural resource. A means to reliably track the game animal once it has been shot with an arrow has long been desired.
In the prior art, several attempts have been made to resolve this problem, but have achieved very limited success.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,150,875 a detection means is disclosed whereby two chemicals are contained in the shaft of the arrow in separate vials. Upon impact with the game animal, or the ground, the vials break and the intermixing of the two chemicals produces visible smoke. By following the trail of smoke, the archer may track the animal or retrieve the arrow. In thickly wooded areas, however, the smoke is only visible for a very short distance. Additionally, if there is any wind or even a slight breeze, the smoke trail may be disbursed and result in an undistinguishable trail.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,417,944, a hunting arrow is disclosed which includes a continuous line of marking yarn connecting the bow to the arrow, which, upon shooting of an arrow, creates a trail marking the path of the wounded animal. However, in many instances, the yarn becomes entangled in trees or brush thereby causing the fleeing animal to break the string. Additionally, when the animal runs a long distance, there may not be enough string to provide an adequate trail. Furthermore, when the arrow is shot, the string produces a drag on the arrow which .[.effects.]. .Iadd.affects .Iaddend.the flight and accuracy of the shot. This reduces the quality level of the archer's shooting ability, and, therefore, may actually create a situation in which even more wounded animals are not recovered.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,319, an arrow is disclosed which includes a device in the nock of the arrow which produces an audible signal. Because the tail end of the arrow is frequently broken as the animal runs through the woods, the nock containing the device for producing the audible signal frequently does not remain with the wounded animal but simply falls to the ground at the location the arrow was broken. In situations in which the arrow is not broken, the audible signal may frighten the wounded animal so that it runs abnormally long distances in a futile effort to escape the sound. This may result in the animal running out of the range of hearing of the archer, thereby again lessening the possibility of recovering the animal rather than increasing the possibility.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,948, a hunting arrow is disclosed which includes a radio frequency transmitter carried in a broadhead of the arrow. The transmitter is coupled to a rigid antenna in the arrow shaft to propagate the signal generated by the transmitter. The archer carries a radio frequency receiver to receive the signal generated by the transmitter. The device was several inherent disadvantages, however. The system requires the use of a special broadhead containing the transmitter. The broadhead is too large and heavy to meet archery standards. Since weight is a critical factor in determining the flight of the arrow and subsequent accuracy of the shot, the hunting arrow cannot be shot accurately. Additionally, the broadhead is so wide that even if the target is hit, the penetration characteristics of the arrow are poor. Additionally, activation of the transmitter results from insertion of a battery in the broadhead or, alternatively, by closing a manual switch. The deactivation of the transmitter results from a reverse process. As a practical matter, activation of the transmitter in this manner requires activation well before the arrow is shot. This requires the transmitter to transmit continuously during hunting, thereby reducing the useful life of the battery. It is further quite inconvenient to assemble and disassemble the broadhead each time it is desired to activate or deactivate the transmitter. Furthermore, the device employs a rigid antenna made of spring steel within the hollow arrow shaft. The rigid antenna further increases the weight of the arrow assembly. This again is detrimental to the flight and accuracy of the arrow. Still further, the device requires the archer to purchase a special broadhead, a special arrow, and fastening clips to assemble the device. Most archers prefer to utilize arrows and broadheads of their choice, but this system does not provide that freedom.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system for tracking an arrow or arrow and game animal in the sport of archery hunting.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system for tracking an arrow which includes a transmitter enclosed inside the hollow arrow while maintaining a weight such as to allow the arrow to be shot in a conventional manner.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an inertia-activation means which permits the transmitter to remain in the deactivation mode until the arrow is shot.